Coming out of the basement
Indrani Bagchi The Indian Hospice in Old Jerusalem is the only one the UN still uses for refugee welfare activities, others having changed hands and disappeared. In fact, some years ago, it took an Israeli PM to intervene against several settlers who had arbitrarily moved in, just so the unique character of this building could be preserved. In some sense, it symbolizes the unique nature of the India-Israel relationship, which was in full bloom last week. Modi was always going to make Israel the last stop in his Middle East outreach, despite the fact that among the first congratulatory calls on May 16, 2014, came from Netanyahu. India’s Think West policy is a series of balancing acts, with Israel as a third pole all by itself. Given the nature of politics in that region, India had to secure all its other relationships before venturing into Jerusalem. But once there, India embraced Israel wholeheartedly. Two things stood out for all watchers, first, Modi did not visit Ramal...